Mr Monk and the Amazing Chocolatier
by estrellaSMC
Summary: Monk X Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Crossover. Willy Wonka is framed for murder. He hires Monk to solve the case. Can Monk clear his name and find out who really did it before Willy gets arrested and he and the Buckets lose everything?
1. Notes and Disclaimers IMPORTANT

**I don't own any characters from the TV show ****Monk****. For those of you who might have come here from the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory fandom, these are Adrian Monk, Natalie Teeger, and Julie Teeger. They belong to whoever writes the scripts for the show.**

**I don't own any characters from ****Charlie and the Chocolate Factory****. They belong to Roald Dahl. Also, so you will know, I'm basing this off of the 2005 movie version of the book.**

**The character of Estrella Tryon is a self-insert. I fictionalized her a bit, though, as well as giving her a made up name. I don't have a sister, for example. Since Estrella Tryon is a fairly minor character, I feel I can get away with this.**

**I wrote out the whole story before I started posting chapters. However, I'm still open to suggestions about things I can do in the story (and I will make sure to give credit when I use someone's idea at the beginning of a chapter). I might not be able to work them all in, but I am open to them.**

**This will also be the first story that I didn't post all at once. I'll try posting it a chapter at a time and see how well it works.**

**Monk might be out of character since I haven't been able to watch the show for a while and don't know what kind of progress he might have made.**

**If Natalie and Julie seem out of character, it's because I never actually watched any shows where Natalie was the assistant. I used her because I like the way people have written her better in the fanfiction stories I've read than I liked how people cast Sherona. Since, as I said before, I haven't been able to watch the show, this is really the only way I can make my decision of which one to use. Also, I think I remember that after 2005 (when the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie came out) that Natalie was the assistant. I wanted to keep it accurate.**

**I will sometimes use lines from books, TV shows, and movies I know. When I do this, I will let everyone know with an author's note and will often set a contest to see who if anyone can identify it. The right answer, as well as who had gotten it right, will be posted on the beginning of the next chapter.**

**For the sake of this story, Charlie and Julie are about the same age. I figured that age to be around twelve years old. I checked the Internet Movie Database and both the actor who played Charlie (Freddy Highmore) and the actress who played Julie (Emmy Clarke) were about this age in 2005. Freddy Highmore was thirteen and Emmy Clarke was fourteen. So saying they are both twelve for this story really isn't ****too**** far off.**

**I never realized before this how hard it is to write a mystery story. You have to come up with what happened. Who did it. Evidence. Etc. Etc. Etc. So, all that said, if the mystery part of the story seems not as complicated as it normally would be for Monk, please don't scold me about it. I did the best I could.**

**As writing teacher always said: "We are not here to bury or sanctify anyone…A specific criticism is worth more than an boatload of fluffy praise. Try to write your reviews with the Golden Rule in mind." In other words, no flames, please. My teacher always concluded with: "It is a privilege to have others read and criticize your writing."**


	2. Chapter 1: Willy Wonka

Willy Wonka whistled happily as he walked across the candy meadow towards the Bucket house. He was looking forward to another delicious breakfast with his adopted family. He stopped at the door and knocked. There was no answer from inside. He knocked again. Still nothing. He reached out a hand for the doorknob, turned it, and slowly opened the door. When it was open enough, he poked his head in. "Hello?" he called. "Any Buckets in here expecting a famous candy maker for breakfast? Or did a herd of Whangdoodles carry them all off and leave the house empty?"

He could see them in the living room. The four grandparents in the bed. Charlie was sitting in the middle of it with his parents sitting in chairs next to it. At the sound of his voice seven pairs of eyes looked at him. Everybody had _very_ serious looks on their faces. Nobody laughed at what he had just said, or even cracked a smile.

"What's with all the doom and gloom?" Willy asked, entering the house and closing the door behind him.

"You might want to pull up a chair, Willy," Mrs. Bucket said.

Willy grabbed a chair from around the table nearby, dragged it over to the bed, and plopped into it. "Okay," he said. "_Now_ will you tell me what's going on here?"

"Here Willy," Charlie said, "Read this." He handed Willy a newspaper.

Willy carefully unfolded the newspaper. Right on the front page was a black and white picture of the outline of a stick thin man wearing a top hat and tailcoat. In his left hand was a cane. The other was held over his head and held a gun, pointing up into the nighttime sky. The man appeared to be doing some kind of odd dance step. On the ground, blocked by the figure of the man, was a body. Willy started to ask what this meant when the headline caught his eye:

_Willy Wonka, the Infamous Murderer?!_

Willy's eyes went wide and he quickly started to read the article.

_Willy Wonka, Owner of Wonka Candy Company, was seen outside his factory, alone, last night. This fact, in and of itself, is extraordinary. Before the Golden Ticket contest, he had not gone outside his factory for fifteen years. After the Golden Ticket contest, he has only been seen on occasion and always in the company of the contest winner, Charlie Bucket._

_What he did while outside his factory was even more extraordinary and, some would say, shocking._

_An eyewitness has informed the city's police that Willy Wonka met up with a girl and conversed with her for a few minutes, their conversation growing more heated as it progressed. Mr. Wonka then produced a gun. The girl, upon seeing it, ran. Mr. Wonka pursued her into a dead end. The girl pressed herself against the brick wall of the alley. She was begging and pleading for her life as Mr. Wonka approached, the eyewitness says. Mr. Wonka stopped a few feet from the girl, raised the gun, and pulled the trigger, shooting the girl through the heart. She dropped dead and fell against the wall. The eyewitness snapped the photograph above of Wonka doing what appears to be a victory dance after the murder._

_The victim has been identified as Alicia Tryon, younger sister to Estrella Tryon, who is a web designer for a company in the city. Alicia lived with her sister, their parents having long ago died._

"_I don't understand how this could have happened," Estrella said. "Alicia didn't even __**know**__ Mr. Wonka. Why would he want to kill her?"_

_So Willy Wonka killed somebody he didn't even know. What do you make of that? What will he do next? Poison his candy bars so everyone who eats one of his candies dies? What if he's done it already? Is it safe to eat Wonka chocolate and candy any more? Is it safe for the Bucket family to live in the factory with a ruthless killer?_

_Absolutely not! Action will be taken against Mr. Wonka. His fortress-like chocolate factory cannot defeat the long arm of the law!_

Wily raised his eyes from the newspaper article. So that was why everybody was upset. "It's not true!" he exclaimed, throwing the newspaper down on the bed. "I was in the factory all night last night. I didn't leave. I've been framed."

"We believe you, Willy," Mrs. Bucket said softly.

"But it doesn't do any good!" Willy exclaimed, jumping up and knocking over his chair in the process. "They could make you guys leave! They could close this place down!" Willy suddenly pounded a fist into the gloved palm of his other hand. "I'll show them that I'm innocent. I'll hire a detective, the best there is, to get to the bottom of this." With that, he started to leave, tripped over the legs of his chair, fell flat, jumped up again, and left the house.


	3. Chapter 2: Adrian Monk

"Mr. Monk," Natalie called as she stopped in on her first visit of the day to drop off his mail. "You got a letter!"

"Didn't I get more than one letter?" Adrian asked, coming into the living room.

"Well, yes," Natalie admitted, "But none of them as important as this one." With that, she handed him an envelope. Adrian shook the envelope, swiped it a couple of times with one hand, and then looked at it.

The first thing he noticed was that his name and address were written in a very fancy style. A lot of flourishes and curlicues.

The other thing that he noticed was that there was no return address. Instead, in the upper left corner where a return address should be, there was a plum red colored W, written in that same fancy style. Curious about both these matters, he got a special knife he used for opening letters and cut it open.

Inside was a single folded up sheet of white paper. He pulled it out, opened it up, and smoothed out the creases. At the top of the paper was another plum red fancy W. This time, though, underneath it were the words "Wonka Candy Company."

Adrian looked at Natalie. "It's from the Wonka Company. I wonder what they want with me?"

"Well read it and find out!" Natalie exclaimed, giving him a playful swat.

Adrian jumped backwards to avoid being hit. Then he read the letter out loud to Natalie.

"Greetings to you, Mr. Adrian Monk, from Mr. Willy Wonka. I shake you warmly by the hand." Adrian stopped reading and looked at Natalie. "Wipe," he said, holding out one hand.

"Even mentioning shaking hands makes you need a wipe?" Natalie teased as she handed one over.

After Adrian finished rubbing his hands he continued. "You are probably wondering why I am writing to you. You undoubtedly know about the murder I am accused of committing. Well, I believe I am innocent. I have heard of you, Mr. Monk, and know that you have an impressive record of being able to find the person who committed the crime. I need you to come and find the evidence that I am innocent, and find out who really did DO it. If you do not come, I fear that I will lose my factory. I am willing to pay you whatever you require for helping me with this. I assure you, I do not lack funds.

"As for a place to stay, I checked our city's hotel. It is booked full at the present time, and the nearest hotel from here is too far away to work. So that means I have decided to, if you decide to come, let you stay here. I do not relish the idea, but it appears to be necessary.

"I have included a piece of paper with my phone number on it. When you get this letter, please call me and we will talk about the details of the arrangement. Once we have finalized these details, please destroy this piece of paper and do not give it to anybody else."

The letter was signed with another fancy W. Adrian looked up at Natalie. "He wants _me_?" he asked.

"Apparently," Natalie said.

"I can't go," Adrian said.

"Why ever not?" Natalie asked.

"It involves travel. I hate traveling. Besides, it's over the sea. That would mean flying or taking a boat. Neither of which I want to do," Adrian said.

"You've flown before," Natalie said.

"That's true," Adrian said.

"And this is _the_ Willy Wonka," Natalie said. "I mean, the guy's world famous, _and_ one of the richest men in the world. Besides, you said you're a detective because you want to help the world."

"True," Adrian said. Then he shrugged. "All right." He opened the envelope. "Now, where's that number?" He found the slip of paper, went to the phone, and dialed. _Good thing making phone calls isn't one of my phobias_, he thought.

"Wonka Candy Company. Willy Wonka speaking." A high pitched male voice answered the phone.

"Hello," Adrian said. "This is Adrian Monk. I'm calling about your letter, Mr. Wonka."

"Ah, Mr. Monk," the voice said. "So the letter finally arrived? Good. I was getting a little worried it had gotten lost in the mail or something."

"I highly doubt that would happen," Adrian said. "The mail service is very reliable."

"Well," the voice said after a slight pause, "Let's get down to business, shall we? Are you going to come?"

"Yes," Adrian said.

"Wonderful!" the voice exclaimed. It was so loud that Adrian had to hold the receiver away from his ear long enough to rub it. Then he rubbed the other one so they'd be even. "So I'll prepare a guest room for ya."

"Uh," Adrian said, "You might want to make that two guest rooms."

"Three," Natalie said. "I know Julie will want to come. She's a big fan of Wonka's candy. It's summer vacation for her, too."

"No, wait," Adrian quickly added, "Three."

"Why?" the voice on the other end of the line sounded puzzled.

"I have an assistant, Natalie, who comes with me on cases. So if I come, she has to come."

"Okay," said the voice, "But why three rooms, then?"

"Natalie has a daughter, Julie, who will also be coming," Adrian explained.

"Oh," said the voice. "Okay. Now, what about the business side of this?"

"You should talk to Natalie about that, Mr. Wonka," Adrian said. "Fortunately, she's right here." He took the phone from his ear and held it out to Natalie. "He wants to talk to you."

Natalie took the phone. "Hello, Mr. Wonka," she said. "I'm Natalie Teeger." Then she and Mr. Wonka decided on the fee and Natalie told Mr. Wonka of Adrian's phobias and quirks so he could set up Adrian's room properly.

Adrian, meanwhile, wandered into the bedroom. He looked over at the picture of Trudy on the wall. She had been a big fan of Wonka's candy. He smiled at the picture and said softly, "I'm doing this for you, Trudy. I know you would have wanted it."


	4. Chapter 3: Meeting

**All right! My first people to add this story to their alerts! Welcome blueskies723 and lonley-weirdo! Now, on with the story.**

* * *

BONG! Went the city church clock.

Adrian straightened up in the seat of the car Natalie had rented. Natalie turned off the car (they'd had it running because it was a hot, humid day and they'd had the air conditioner on) and the three of them listened, counting the chimes. BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG!

Ten o'clock. That was the time they were supposed to be let in. Adrian watched the gates from where he, Natalie, and Julie sat in the car parked across the street from the factory.

The gates slowly opened. Adrian, Natalie, and Julie clambered out of the car and made their way across the street. They came inside the factory grounds. Julie was barely able to stand still, she was so excited. The gates closed behind them.

"Dear visitors," boomed out a voice. It was so loud and so sudden that Adrian jumped. "I want to welcome you to my humble factory. And who am I? Well…"

The grey stone doors opened revealing a red curtain. This lifted to reveal a stage on which were a bunch of dolls. Some were attached to what looked like a large wheel. Others were standing up on a disk that rotated. The whole display was brightly colored. As they watched, the dolls moved around on the stage and several high-pitched voices sang out:

_Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka  
__The amazing chocolatier  
__Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka  
__Everybody give a cheer, Hooray!  
__He's modest, clever, and so smart,  
__He barely can restrain it  
__There's so much generosity  
__There is nowhere to contain it…to contain it  
__To contain, to contain, to contain!_

Natalie and Julie started laughing and clapping along to the catchy tune. Adrian, however, wasn't sure what to think about it.

_Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka  
__He's the one that you're about to meet  
__Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka,  
__He's the genius who just can't be beat  
__The magician and the chocolate wiz  
__He's the best darn guy who ever lived…  
__Willy Wonka, here he is!'_

A chair appeared from underneath, but no one was sitting on it. Of this Adrian was very glad, because fireworks soon went off. Some of the dolls caught on fire and started melting. Adrian covered his eyes at the scene.

Suddenly the three of them became aware of another person who was also applauding and laughing. He was standing next to Adrian. The three of them looked at him as he said, "Wasn't that just _magnificent?_ I was worried it was getting a little dodgy in the middle, but then that finale! _Wow!_" With that he skipped up the steps and turned around to face them.

The voice was very familiar to Adrian, but he couldn't place where. He studied the man who was now in front of them. He was extremely pale. His hair was dark brown in color, straight, and cut about at chin length. He was wearing a long, black coat, but Adrian could see that he had another, plum red one underneath. On his head was a top hat. His eyes were hidden by a pair of goggles. In his hand was a cane that appeared to be filled with millions of tiny candies. He could also see a gold W pin at the man's throat. It was that pin that gave the man's identity away. He took a cautious step forward. "Mr. Wonka?" he asked.

The man's face broke out into a huge, bright grin. "That's right!" he exclaimed. "How'd you guess?"

"Your pin," Adrian said. "It's the same design as the logo on the stationary of the letter you sent me."

The man, who Adrian had correctly guessed was Willy, came back down the steps. "And you must be Adrian Monk. I knew you were a good detective, but this just proves it," he said. Adrian nodded. Willy held out a purple gloved hand to shake hands. Then, thinking better of it, he pulled it back again with a, "Heh, forgot you don't like shaking hands."

Adrian looked puzzled, "How do you know about that?" he asked.

"Your assistant told me on the phone," he said in a "Well duh!" done of voice. Then he turned to Natalie and held out his hand to her. "I take it you are that assistant?"

"Yes," said Natalie, shaking hands with him, "I'm Natalie." Then she indicated Julie, who was gazing at Willy with shining eyes, "And this is my daughter, Julie."

"I shake you warmly by the hand, young lady," Willy said, holding his hand out to her.

"It's so great to meet you, Mr. Wonka, sir," Julie said, shaking his hand. "I was so disappointed when I didn't find a ticket."

Willy quickly turned his attention from Julie and looked around. "You didn't bring anything with you?" he asked.

"Yeah, we did," Natalie said. "It's just in the car parked across the street from the factory. There's a lot of it, so we didn't want to bring it with us by hand. It would have taken several trips."

"Why don't you go drive it in here?" Willy asked. "I'll go open the gates again." He skipped off. Natalie went out to the car and drove it up to the front steps. Willy returned and peered into the back seat where two seats were taken up with suitcases. He whistled. "And I thought _I_ brought a lot of stuff with me when I went somewhere!"

"There's more in the trunk," Julie told him.

"Well, good thing I have a lot of helpers," Willy said.

"Helpers?" Julie asked.

"The oompa-loompas," Willy replied.

Julie smiled, "I read about them after the tour," she said.

Willy nodded. "Normally, they don't come outside because they're used to an extremely hot climate, but since it's so hot out today, that shouldn't be a problem." Then he poked his head into the doorway of the factory and made a funny sound. Julie giggled. They could her his voice saying, "Go get some of the others. We're going to need your help carrying their luggage up to their room." Then he came outside again. "Let's get it all out of the car. Make it easier for them," he said.

Soon the car was unloaded and the oompa-loompa helpers arrived. Each one grabbed a suitcase and hurried inside again. Within a matter of minutes the last one was taken in. Willy pointed at the last oompa-loompa and said "Follow them!" He then walked up the steps and into the factory. Natalie, Julie, and Adrian last of all following them. Willy stopped momentarily to remove his black outer coat and goggles and then the four of them continued on.

When they reached their destination, the door was already open. "Watch your step," Willy said, "They probably set the suitcases right in the middle of the floor. Oof!" Not taking his own advice, Willy had been walking into the room backwards and fell over one of the suitcases himself.

"Are you okay, Mr. Wonka?" Natalie asked.

"Fine, just fine," Willy said, getting up. "That happens all the time." He smiled at them. "Well, don't just stand out in the hall. Come in!" They came in. "This is one of the guest suites I had put in when I had the factory built. It has a kitchen, three bedrooms, and a bathroom attached to each bedroom. Mr. Monk, I thought you should have that room." He pointed to a door on one side of the room. "Mrs. and Ms. Teeger," he said, "You two get those rooms over there." He pointed to two doors on the other side of the room. "If you need anything, press that button," he indicated a button next to the light switches, "And an oompa-loompa will come. They understand English, by the way. Now, if that's all, I think I'll leave you to get settled." With that he left, closing the door behind him.

Adrian, Natalie, and Julie looked at each other for a few minutes. Then Natalie bent over one of the cases. "Well," she said, "Let's unpack and get set up."


	5. Chapter 4: Meet the Buckets

**A/N: Another two people have put this story on their alert list. Welcome, The-Wonka-Empire and Cylon One.**

**I'm also happy to report my first reviews! Thank you The-Wonka-Empire and Cylon One. **

**The-Wonka-Empire, I hope that maybe my descriptions of things might be vivid enough that you won't find reading the story instead of watching it too difficult. As for your suspicions, I don't want to say anything there because it would give away the ending.**

**Cylon One, I'm glad you're enjoying it. I couldn't resist having the dolls in there. Regarding the oompa-loompas, I don't know why I didn't have someone ask about them. Didn't think of it, I guess.**

* * *

"Settling in okay?" Willy asked, poking his head around the corner.

Adrian, Natalie, and Julie were sitting in chairs in the common area of the suite. They all jumped at the sound of his voice. "Oh! Mr. Wonka!" Natalie exclaimed. "We didn't know you were there!"

"No problem," Willy said. Then he looked around the room. All the furniture had been rearranged so they were at right angles to each other, and all the pictures on the walls were perfectly straight. "What on earth…"

Julie laughed at the look on Willy's face. "The place got Monked," she said.

Seeing Willy still look confused, Natalie explained, "Mr. Monk rearranged the furniture, Mr. Wonka. I told you over the phone that he has to have everything at ninety degree angles to everything else."

Realization dawned on Willy's face, and he chuckled, "Oh!" he said. "So I take it you're all settled, then?"

"Yes," Adrian said, speaking for the first time. "It was nice of you to give us a refrigerator for me to store my food in, by the way. A hotel wouldn't have done that."

"Ah yes," Willy said, "I think Mrs. Teeger mentioned that you brought your own food in her phone call." He came into the room. "I wanted to invite you to come and have dinner with me and the Buckets so you can meet them, too."

The three of them looked at each other. "Sure," Natalie said, answering for all of them.

"Just let me get something to eat out of the fridge," Adrian said, getting out of the chair and heading for the suite's kitchen.

In a few minutes he was back and the four of them headed through the passages to the Chocolate Room.

"Through here," Willy said, ushering them through a door.

Once they were in the room, the three of them stopped in amazement.

"Whoa!" Natalie and Julie said together, looking around the room.

Willy grinned when he heard them. The Chocolate Room did have that effect on people the first time they saw it. He turned to Adrian, "What do you think, Mr. Monk?"

Adrian gazed about him for a moment. The colors of the room were bright, and things that looked like strange trees were everywhere. There was no real order to the room as far as he could tell. But it all felt as if everything were natural and…beautiful. He found himself paying the highest compliment he could think of, "Trudy would have loved this room."

"Trudy?" Willy asked, looking at him. "Who's that?"

"My late wife," Adrian said.

"How long ago did she die?" Willy asked.

"Eight years," Adrian responded.

"I'm sorry," Willy said, turning away. He turned back after a minute, smiled, and said, "Come on, the Buckets are probably expecting us." With that he led them to the Bucket house and knocked. The door opened.

"Hi Willy!" Charlie said with a smile at his friend. Then he noticed Adrian, Natalie, and Julie.

"Charlie," Willy said, "These people are Adrian Monk, his assistant Natalie Teeger, and her daughter Julie Teeger. Everyone, this is my heir and friend, Charlie Bucket."

"Hello," Charlie said, bowing politely.

"Hello," they responded.

"Come on in," Charlie said, turning around and leading the four of them inside. "Mom! Dad!" he called, "The detective Willy hired is here!"

Mr. and Mrs. Bucket came over and introduced themselves and the grandparents in the bed. Grandpa Joe got up to move the plates around and create three extra spaces. Soon everyone was settled around the table.

Adrian found himself between Natalie and one of Charlie's grandmothers. She suddenly leaned over and sniffed him. "You smell like a hospital," she remarked, wrinkling her nose. Natalie and Julie couldn't help it. They laughed.

"That's Grandma Georgina," Charlie said with a chuckle.

"Don't worry about her, Mr. Monk," Willy said. "She once said I smelled like peanuts."

This shared revelation made everybody at the table burst out laughing. Well, everybody except Adrian, who just smiled ever so slightly. The joke seemed to loosen everybody up.

About halfway through the meal, Adrian looked at everybody sitting around the table. "Does anybody have any idea why somebody would frame Mr. Wonka?"

"Not really," Mrs. Bucket said.

"I don't," Mr. Bucket said.

"Me neither," said Charlie.

"Nope."

"Nope."

"Nope."

"Good soup tonight."

"I'll take that as a no," Adrian said, looking at Grandma Georgina, who had made the last comment. "Well, I'll do what I can to solve this case. I promise."

"Thank you, Mr. Monk," Willy said from his place across the table. "I think we'll all rest easier knowing we have one of the best detectives to solve the case. I know I will."

* * *

**A/N: I hope Adrian's reaction to the Chocolate Room didn't seem too out of character to everybody. I just couldn't bring myself to make him not like it for some reason. So, sorry if his reaction seemed out of character.**


	6. Chapter 5: The Picture

**A/N: Thanks, Cylon One. Glad to hear you didn't think anyone was out of character in the last chapter.**

**I also wanted everyone to know that the reason this chapter is late is because fanfiction(dot)net wouldn't let me log in. No ability to log in, no new chapter. Anyway, I'm back now and so...on with the tale!**

* * *

After dinner, Adrian noticed the newspaper that was on the floor. He leaned over and saw the picture that supposedly "proved" Willy was the killer in the murder. He squatted next to it and scanned it. He turned his head one way, then the other.

Natalie and Julie watched him. They knew he was trying to pick up clues on the case. Their interest in him caused the others to watch, also. Suddenly Adrian straightened up.

"I bet he found something," Natalie said to the others as he came over to them. Then she asked "Did you find something?"

"Some," Adrian admitted.

"Well, tell us!" Willy exclaimed, clasping his hands together and practically bouncing where he stood.

"Patience, Mr. Wonka," Natalie said.

Adrian launched into telling what he found. "The picture was taken with the photographer faced west. I know because I could still see an ever-so-slight glow left over from the sunset on the horizon."

"Couldn't it have been in the east and that was the beginning of sunrise?" Charlie asked.

"No," Adrian said, "It was sunset. The numbers on the picture confirmed it."

"Numbers?" everyone chorused. They hadn't even noticed them.

"Some cameras put the date and time on the picture," Adrian explained. "This was clearly one of those. They were in the lower left corner and read the date of the murder. The time when the picture was taken was in the evening. The picture was also taken by somebody on the same level as the person posing as you."

"Which means they were either taking it from a window on the ground floor of one of the buildings, or they were standing in the alley with whoever-it-was," Natalie said.

"Yes," said Adrian, "And the person knew it, too. He was holding a pose."

"Why do you say that?" Willy asked curiously.

"Look at his hair," Adrian said. Mr. Bucket picked up the paper and held it for everyone to look at.

"It's the same funny haircut," Charlie commented.

"I do _not_ have a funny hair cut!" Willy exclaimed.

"Do too!" Charlie shot back.

"Do not!" Willy retorted.

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do _NOT_!" Willy exclaimed, and then stuck his tongue out at Charlie childishly.

Adrian cleared his throat. Everyone turned their attention back to him. "Anyway," he said, "I've been observing Mr. Wonka ever since I arrived, and I've noticed that his hair moves every time he does. Now look at the hair of the guy in the picture. It's lying flat around his face. If the camera had caught him in the split second he made that movement, like it would have if somebody had snapped the picture without his knowing, his hair would be flying around. It's not, so the guy must have been still when the picture was taken. The guy was posing."

Grandpa Joe looked closely at the picture. "Holy Buckets," he whispered, "He's right!"

"Of course he's right," Natalie said proudly.

"The report was also forged." Adrian said.

"What?" everyone asked.

"Didn't you see the body in the background?" Adrian asked. "The report said she fell against the wall. If that was the case, the camera would be facing the dead end. It's not. It's facing the opening. The report was forged."

"Ha!" Willy exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "Told ya I was framed!"

"Now all we have to do is prove it," Adrian said.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter contains the first reference to a non-Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or Monk thing. I'll give you a hint. It's a portion of dialog and is found in a movie. People who get it right get virtual Gobstoppers. When you make a guess, please specify what flavor you want so I'll know what to give you if you get it right.**


	7. Chapter 6: The Crime Scene

**A/N: And we have another follower! All right! Welcome, Psycho Tangerine. Glad you like the story so far. How'd you know I was going to post a chapter today, anyway? (I usually aim for one every Sunday, just so everyone knows. Last week I was having technical issues and yesterday I just plain goofed)**

**And Cylon One, you might want to go back and re-read chapters 2 and 3 (chapters 3 and 4 from 's perspective, since I used chapter 1 as notes and disclaimers and my chapter 1 was chapter 2 according to the site). I added some stuff that I hope addresses the two issues you had before without contradicting myself or either canon somewhere else in the story.**

* * *

The next morning, after breakfast, Adrian told the Buckets and Willy that he planned to go over the crime scene.

"Willy and I will come with you," Charlie said

"I don't think that's a good idea," Natalie said.

"Why not?" Charlie asked.

"Because people believe that Mr. Wonka committed the murder," Adrian explained. "It would be a very bad idea for him to go outside at all, much less be seen where he supposedly murdered someone. He could be mobbed. Or arrested."

"I guess you're right," Charlie said.

Willy grinned. "Finally!" he exclaimed. "An excuse to stay put in the factory. Charlie's always dragging me outside for one reason or another."

The Buckets all laughed.

* * *

Adrian and Natalie slipped out the side gate of the factory. Following Charlie's directions on how to get to the alley where the crime had taken place, they soon arrived. Adrian immediately began his investigations, looking at the walls of the buildings and the ground in the area through the "window" he formed with his hands.

He suddenly turned towards Natalie. "She was actually shot where the body was in the picture," he said.

"How do you know that?" Natalie asked.

"There are blood specks on the wall over there but not on the wall of the dead end," Adrian said.

"But there's a large blood stain on the ground back there," Natalie said, pointing at it.

"That was created by the killer," Adrian explained. "Look down."

Natalie did. The ground was unpaved and was covered in a sandy substance. She squinted, but didn't see anything.

"There are small particles of bloody sand," Adrian explained. "The killer transplanted the bloody sand from killing Ms. Tryon to there. During the process, some of the sand leaked and made a very faint trail. The police didn't notice it when going over the crime scene."

Natalie suddenly spotted something. "Look at this," she said. She walked over to a nail sticking out from a sign that had been nailed to one of the buildings and removed a small piece of plum red colored fabric with a gold button.

After Natalie had placed it in a baggie, Adrian examined it. "It's the bottom button," he said. "There's no way this could have just caught there and ripped. It was too low on the coat. The person who was pretending to be Mr. Wonka ripped this off his coat and put it here."

"How do you know it's the bottom button?" Natalie asked.

"Two perpendicular sides of the cloth it's on have been hemmed," Adrian responded.

* * *

Later, back at the factory, Adrian brought out the button. "This was found at the crime scene" he said.

"I wonder why the police didn't see it," Charlie said. "It looks like something that would point directly to Mr. Wonka."

"Maybe they didn't feel like they had to look around too thoroughly," Julie suggested. "After all, they had an eyewitness who said it was Mr. Wonka."

"Mr. Wonka," Adrian said. "Would you take your coat off and place it so the bottom button is next to this one I found?"

"Uh, sure," Willy said. He carefully removed his coat and laid it where Adrian had requested.

Adrian leaned over and examined the two buttons. "Look at this," he said. "The button we found at the crime scene has four holes, but the ones on Mr. Wonka's coat had only two."

Charlie suddenly picked up the baggie and opened it. He felt the cloth, and then touched Willy's jacket. "The cloth doesn't feel the same, either," he said.

Natalie poked a finger into the bag and felt the cloth, too. "It's not real velvet," she said.

"And, of course, _mine_ is," Willy said, putting his coat back on. "It's just more proof that I'm not the real killer." He grinned. "So when can we go to the police and clear my name?" he asked.

"We should probably wait until we know who did do it," Adrian said. "Yes, we have evidence, but the police here don't know me. They wouldn't take this little piece of evidence seriously."

"Okay," Willy said.


	8. Chapter 7: Cleaning

**A/N: A new follower! Welcome Nienna Telrunya.**

**Also, Psycho Tangerine, I can't really say that because it would ruin the (hoefully) surprise.**

* * *

A few hours later, Willy stopped by the suite his guests were in, eager to see if any progress was being made on the case. He opened the door and was assaulted by the stench of cleaning products mixed with the chocolaty smell that was usual in his factory. He took a step backwards, waving one purple gloved hand in front of his face. "Pee-yew!" he exclaimed.

Adrian, at the sound of Willy's voice, poked his head out of the bathroom. In one hand he held a spray bottle of glass cleaner and in the other a rag. "Mr. Wonka!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Being grossed out by the smell of cleaning supplies mixed with chocolate," Willy joked, making a face as he came inside.

"Sorry," Adrian said, setting the things down on a nearby table. "When I need to think, I often clean. I was just working on cleaning the suite."

"Thinking about the case?" Willy asked him.

"Yes," Adrian said.

"Well, I won't stick around then," Willy said, backing out the door. "I don't want to interrupt _that_."

"You don't have to leave," Adrian said. "I had actually just finished when you arrived. Natalie and Julie locked themselves in their rooms and refused to let me in to clean…" Willy laughed at that. Once Willy had his mirth back under control, Adrian finished, "…and I've cleaned the rest of the suite."

"Have you made any progress on the case yet?" Willy asked.

"No," Adrian said. "I need to clean some more, but there's nothing left."

"Hmmm…" Willy said, thinking for a minute. Then he grinned as an idea came to him. "Hey! I've got it! There's a room in the factory that I've been meaning to have the oompa-loompas clean up, but I never remember to mention it to them. Besides, they're so busy that they wouldn't be able to do it right away. You could clean in there."

"Do you mean that?" Adrian asked.

"Of course!" Willy exclaimed. "Come on!" He started to lead the way out of the suite.

"Wait!" Adrian called. "I have to get my stuff. I'll let Natalie know, too." He told Natalie (through the door) what was going on, then went into his room and came out carrying a bucket with several bottles of stuff in it, a mop, cloths, a roll of paper towels, a box of latex gloves, a box of Q-tips, and a few other items.

Willy suppressed a laugh. "You sure are an expert on cleaning," he said. "You ready now?"

"I'm ready," Adrian said. "Lead the way."

* * *

About a half an hour later (since they couldn't take the elevator or boat because of Adrian's phobias) they arrived at the room. It was labeled simply 'Storage.' Willy pulled out a ring of keys. He tried many of them, which was accompanied by, "Nope, nope, no, uh-uh, nope, drat, rats, aw shoot, darn it…" before, finally, "Ah!" he exclaimed, swinging the door open. Then he gestured to Adrian and said, "After you."

Adrian stopped and stared. "What a mess," he said. Things were placed all over the place. No order to anything at all. An inch of dust covered everything. "This will take at least a few hours to clean."

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Willy asked. He leaned on the wall as Adrian made his way into the room. "It gives you a few hours to think about the case."

"Yes," Adrian said. He looked around. "I think I'll start over here…no, over here…no, over here…"

"For the love of chocolate," Willy said, "Just pick a place!"

Adrian walked over to a table in front of a window. "Here," he said. Then he turned to Willy. "You shouldn't lean against the wall," he said. "For one thing, you're position isn't even. For the other, you'll…"

Willy pushed himself off the wall and stood straight. Then he noticed a dusty patch on the sleeve of his coat. "Ew!" he exclaimed, frantically wiping the dust off.

"…you'll get yourself dusty," Adrian finished. Then he turned and started to work.

"Have you always wanted to be a detective?" Willy asked after a few minutes of silence.

"No," Adrian said, while continuing to clean. "When I was a boy I always wanted to be a police officer."

"What made you change your mind?" Willy asked.

"Nothing did," Adrian said. "After Trudy was killed by the car bomb they made me leave the force. They said I couldn't do my job."

"So you lost your dream," Willy said.

"Yes," Adrian said. Then he turned the question around, "Did you always want to be a chocolatier?"

"Yeah," Willy said with a smile. "At least, for as long as I had any dream about becoming anything, it was a chocolatier." The smile faded as he added, "I lost my dream, too, you know."

"What?" Adrian asked, turning from his cleaning to look at Willy. "When? Why?"

"The spies," Willy spat. "Those parasitic copycat candy making cads sent in spies to steal my recipes. My life's work. There wasn't any way I could keep the factory open when I found out about them. I had to close the factory for a while."

Adrian was staring thoughtfully out the window. "Copycats," he said. "Other candy makers who copy Mr. Wonka's recipes. Expert copiers…" Then, suddenly, Adrian exclaimed, "That's it!"

Willy jumped. "What's it?" he asked.

"If they copied your recipes," Adrian said, "They could copy something else…like the way you look. I need to check them out as possible suspects. Who are they?"

"Let's see," Willy said. "There are three of them who live in this town, so I'm guessing you can probably limit yourself to those three."

"Maybe, maybe not," Adrian said. "But that is definitely a place to start. What are their names?"

"Ferdinand Finckelgruber, Patrick Prodnose, and Stephen Slugworth," Willy responded, ticking them off on his glove.

"I have to go get Natalie so we can talk to these people," Adrian said.

* * *

**A/N 1: I couldn't resist having Willy react the way he did to the smell of Adrian's cleaning supplies. My mom was cleaning the toilet when I wrote this chapter and boy does the stuff she uses STINK! But I also know that other cleaning supplies we use smell really bad, too.**

**A/N 2: I also couldn't resist the alliteration when it came to the first names of Willy's "candy making cad" competitors. After all, we have alliteration in Willy Wonka, so I figured why not?**

**A/N 3: So you will know, it really is 'Finckelgruber' and not 'Ficklegruber' or any other spelling. I looked it up on the Internet Movie Database.**


	9. Chapter 8: Finkelgruber

**A/N: Welcome Monkwriter! And I'm glad that you think everyone is in character. That's always a relief.**

**Cylon One, I think there's a certain upcoming chapter that you will enjoy. It's the next to last one, so we have a while to go before we get there. Just thought I'd give you (and everyone else) a bit of a teaser.**

**Psycho Tangerine, glad you like my idea of making the other candy makers the suspects. Someone (was it you?) suggested one of the golden ticket winners or their parents be the one who framed Willy. I toyed with the idea, but couldn't figure out how it could work with the plot I had.**

* * *

"I wonder why Mr. Wonka never mentioned these other candy makers before…" Natalie wondered as they made their way down the street.

"He said he forgot when I asked him," Adrian said.

"Do you really think he did?" Natalie asked.

"I think he just meant he didn't think of them," Adrian replied. They walked on in silence until they reached Finkelgruber's store.

When they entered, the girl behind the counter looked up. "May I help you?" she asked.

"Is Mr. Finckelgruber in?" Adrian asked.

"May I ask who wishes to see him?" the girl asked.

"I'm Natalie Teeger and he's Adrian Monk," Natalie said. "We're helping with the investigation of the recent murder."

"Ah," the girl said, "The Wonka murder case, right?" Adrian and Natalie nodded. "Well, Mr. Finckelgruber has nothing to hide there. It was, after all, Mr. Wonka who killed that girl. I'm sure he'd be okay talking to you. I'll go get him." With that she turned around and walked into the back of the shop.

Adrian looked around and noticed that one of the display cases standing next to a window was slightly crooked. He went over to it and pushed the case until it was straight. The sunlight fell on something black that had been hidden by the case.

Just as Adrian noticed the object, the door to the back of the shop opened. Adrian quickly looked up as Mr. Finckelgruber walked into the room. "Hello, Mr. Monk," Mr. Finckelgruber said, holding out his hand to shake Adrian's.

"Wipe," Adrian said after shaking hands. He rubbed his hands with the wipe as Mr. Finckelgruber turned to Natalie.

"Ms. Teeger," he added, shaking her hand. "I hear you wish to talk about the Wonka case."

"Yes," Adrian said, still rubbing his hands with the wipe.

"Will you two come into my office?" Mr. Finckelgruber said, gesturing. Then, as he turned around to lead them into his office, Adrian noticed that Mr. Finckelgruber swung his right foot in a slightly wider circle than what would seem normal and kicked the black object further under the display case.

* * *

"So what do you think?" Natalie asked. "Is he the killer?"

"I don't think so," Adrian said, "Even though I'm pretty sure that was the gun I saw under the display case. He was obviously involved, he's just not the one who killed the victim."

"But he did supply the camera," Natalie said. "I saw it on a shelf in his office when we were talking to him."

"I saw the camera you're talking about, too," Adrian said. "It was too high up for me to inspect it."

"I know it was the one because it's the right type of camera," Natalie explained. "I took a photography class once and they talked about different kinds of cameras and what effect they have on pictures. The camera used to take the picture was an older model."

"And Mr. Finckelgruber told me not to touch the camera in his office because it was old," Adrian said.

"That was the truth," Natalie said. "I remember them showing us a picture of that camera in the class. They told us it was old and very rare."

"Valuable?" Adrian asked.

"Yes," Natalie said.

"So he clearly wasn't lying when he said he got that from his father," Adrian said. "He couldn't have been. There is no way he could have afforded to buy that camera with the kind of money he makes."

"How do you know about how much money he makes?" Natalie asked.

"The furnishings in the office," Adrian said. "He would have had more expensive things in his office if he'd been able to afford them. Everything he had in his office looked like it was good quality and expensive, but I knew it was fake."

* * *

**A/N 1: Just so you know, no, I don't know about cameras. I'm just guessing that there probably **_**is**_** such a camera. That's why I was so vague and didn't mention the name of it. Besides, this is fan**_**fiction**_** and if there isn't such a camera, or I'm wrong about the idea of different cameras affecting how a picture comes out, well, I can make that stuff up, right?**

**A/N 2: Slight Warning: This chapter and the other two (interviews with the other two candy maker suspects) may not be as good as the rest of the story.**


	10. Chapter 9: Prodnose

**Thanks to Cylon One, Psycho Tangerine, and Monkwriter. I'm glad that you didn't think last chapter wasn't as bad as I did.**

* * *

The next stop on their agenda was Prodnose's candy shop. They were welcomed into the office by Mr. Prodnose and offered a place to sit.

Mr. Prodnose took his place behind his desk. "So," he said, "Why are you investigating the Wonka case? Everybody knows it was him."

"We figured it would be a good idea to take another look," Adrian said with a shrug.

"It doesn't hurt anything," Natalie added.

"Well, what can I help you with?" Mr. Prodnose asked, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Where were you the night of the murder?" Adrian asked.

"I was at home, asleep, in bed," Mr. Prodnose answered.

"Anybody able to corroborate that?" Natalie asked.

"My wife," Mr. Prodnose answered. "She was in bed with me. She always wakes up when I get out of bed…even when it's to use the bathroom. She definitely would have woken up if I had gotten out of bed that night for any reason. You can ask her."

Adrian suddenly felt something poking him. He slipped his hand (encased in a wipe) down between the back cushion and the seat cushion of the chair he was sitting in. Then he slid his hand along until he found what had been poking him. It was a small, round object. He took it in his hand then slowly worked his hand out from between the two cushions and into his pocket where he deposited the object for later.

"In fact," Mr. Prodnose continued, "Here she is right now." Natalie and Adrian turned to look and saw a woman with straight brown hair and brown eyes. "Honey," said Mr. Prodnose to his wife, "Did I wake you up during the night on the night that girl was killed?"

"No, dear," Mrs. Prodnose said, "Why?"

"These two detectives are investigating the case," Mr. Prodnose said, indicating Adrian and Natalie, "And wanted to know my whereabouts that night."

"He was at home, in bed, with me," Mrs. Prodnose said.

"That's what I told them, dear," Mr. Prodnose said. Then he turned to Adrian and Natalie. "Do you have any more questions?"

Adrian and Natalie looked at each other before Adrian turned back to Mr. Prodnose, "No," he said.

"Well then," Mr. Prodnose said as the three of them stood up. "I'll be wishing you a good day and good luck on the investigation." With that, he walked with them out of the office.

Once they were outside the office, Mr. and Mrs. Prodnose went over to the boy behind the counter. "Jacob, I'm leaving early and going home with the Missus. You're in charge here. Don't forget to lock up when you leave."

"Yes sir," Jacob responded before going back to restocking the shelves. Mr. and Mrs. Prodnose then left.

Meanwhile, Adrian and Natalie wandered over to a nearby table that had a dark blue table skirt around it. The fabric looked like it was velvet, but Natalie reached out to touch it. "Fake," she whispered to Adrian.

Adrian carefully, using his wipe-covered hand, pulled the skirt away from the table ever so slightly. There, caught in one of the staples that held the skirt to the edge of the table, was a piece of plum red fabric. "Tweezers," Adrian said, holding out his hand. Natalie gave them to him and he slowly used them to ease the piece of fabric out of the staple. Natalie had an evidence bag ready and he put the cloth in it. Adrian then turned to Jacob. "Excuse me," he said. "How new are these table skirts?"

"I put them up about two weeks ago," Jacob responded, puzzled.

"Why did Mr. Prodnose want the old ones taken down?" Adrian asked.

"He said they were getting old and needed to be replaced" Jacob answered.  
"I didn't see anything wrong with them, but he's my boss and I had to do what he said."

"Thank you," Adrian asked. With that, he and Natalie left, leaving behind a very confused Jacob.

Once they had left Prodnose's shop, Adrian dug around in his pocket until he found what he had put in there from before.

It was a gold colored button with four holes.

Natalie's eyes widened when she saw it. "Just like the button we found at the crime scene," she said. She dug out another baggie and Adrian put the button in it before asking for another wipe and scrubbing his hands with it vigorously.

"So Mr. Prodnose is involved in the murder, too," Adrian said.

* * *

**A/N: Well, that chapter went a whole lot better than I thought it would. Maybe it was only the Finckelgruber chapter that I will feel is not-so-good. Keep your fingers crossed.**


	11. Chapter 10: Slugworth

**agtchill13 (I assume that second letter is a g and not a q. I couldn't tell because of your name being underlined), thank you for your reviews. It sounds like you're really enjoying the story so far. I had actually totally forgotten to think about how Adrian would react to Charlie's crooked house in the Chocolate Room. I'm glad you liked the argument about Willy's hair, the 'shake you warmly by the hand' scene, and Willy's reaction to the smell of the cleaning supplies. Those are some of my favorite moments, too.**

**OnlyANorthernSong, just letting you know that it's not ALL the dialog from that chapter that I got from another source, only a part of it.**

**Cylon One, I'm glad you enjoyed it.**

**Psycho Tangerine, it's actually the other way around. They used the tablecloth to make the coat for whoever-it-was who impersonated Willy Wonka. They then replaced the tablecloth they had used with blue ones so to make it look less conspicuous. Monk found a shred of the original red ones caught in a staple behind the new ones.**

* * *

Their last stop of the day was Slugworth's candy shop. Mr. Slugworth himself was talking to the girl working behind the counter. "…I don't care that I wasn't here when it happened," he said as they entered. "You should have been able to _stop_ those boys from stealing the candy off the racks."

"Mr. Slugworth?" Adrian Monk asked, causing the man to turn around. "I'm Adrian Monk and this is Natalie Teeger." Mr. Slugworth came over and shook their hands, causing Adrian to quickly turn to his assistant. "Wipe," he said. She handed him one and he turned back to Mr. Slugworth.

"What can I help you with?" Mr. Slugworth asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"We're investigating the murder of the girl by Willy Wonka," Adrian replied.

"What is there to investigate?" Mr. Slugworth exclaimed. "They know who did it and who was killed. What else do you need?"

Adrian was lost for words for a moment and Natalie jumped into the breach, "How about why that girl was killed? The paper said they didn't know each other. That's very suspicious, don't you think?"

Mr. Slugworth sighed. "Follow me," he said. He led them into his office in the back room. The three of them sat down. "Back when I would see Mr. Wonka sometimes…when he wasn't always holed up in that factory of his…he seemed an unstable character. I wouldn't put it past him to kill that girl. Especially since…No."

"What?" Adrian and Natalie asked together.

"Her older sister worked for me for a while. She also worked for Mr. Wonka," Mr. Slugworth said.

"So she was one of your spies," Natalie said.

"To put it bluntly, yes," Mr. Slugworth said, leaning back in his chair. "I met Alicia once. She and Estrella looked like they could be twins, except Alicia was shorter and clearly younger."

"So you're saying that Mr. Wonka thought Alicia was Estrella and that was why he killed her?" Adrian asked. "To get back at her for stealing his recipes?"

"That is what I think," Mr. Slugworth said. He got up, and they followed suit. "You can see yourselves out, I'm sure."

* * *

"Well?" Natalie asked as they exited Slugworth's store.

"Well, what?" Adrian asked.

"What do you think about Mr. Slugworth?" Natalie asked.

"Shifty," Adrian answered, "And he definitely acts like he has something to hide. He was also not in the store one night, from what I overheard of his conversation with the girl behind the counter."

"So you think he is the killer?" Natalie asked.

"I don't know," Adrian said. They walked on in silence for a few minutes before Adrian said. "I want to talk to the sister of the victim. I have a feeling Slugworth is lying about her."

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so that chapter went okay. Not as well as Prodnose but not as bad as Finckelgruber, I'd say.**


	12. Chapter 11: Estrella

**A/N: Thanks, Cylon One and Psycho Tangerine, for reviewing. Here's another chapter.**

**This is one of my favorite chapters because this is where my self-insert happens. :-) I also realized that this chapter contains a time inconsistency. In my notes and disclaimers, I had the feeling I suggested that this fic took place around 2005 (please let me know in your reviews whether you got this impression, too). In this chapter, I show that it took place in 2008. If enough people say that they got the impression this happened in 2005, i'll change the years mentioned in this chapter to reflect that, otherwise, I'm going to leave it the way it is.**

* * *

The next day Adrian and Natalie found out where Estrella Tryon lived and went to her house. Natalie knocked.

The door was opened by a young woman. Her hair was fiery red in color and reached to her shoulders. Her eyes were a bright green. She smiled. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"We're investigating the murder of your sister," Adrian told her. "Can we come in?"

"Sure," Estrella said. She backed up and opened the door for them. "Sorry about the mess," she added, leading them into another room. "I was in the middle of a cleaning project." Adrian cringed when he saw the room. There were piles of stuff everywhere. Estrella shot him an embarrassed look. "It's in the getting worse before it gets better stage, I'm afraid," she said. "If you can find a place to sit while we talk, you're welcome to." Adrian started to adjust one of the piles of stuff to make it more even. Estrella shooed him away from the pile, adding, "Please don't touch anything, though. It may not look like it, but I _do_ have a system here." After a few minutes, Adrian and Natalie found that the chairs at the dining room table were unoccupied and sat in them. "So," Estrella said. "What can I help you with?"

"Uh," Adrian said, having a hard time concentrating because of the mess. "How old are you?"

"I'm twenty four," Estrella said, "Why?"

"So that means you graduated in 2005, right?" Adrian asked.

"Yes," Estrella said with a smile. She held her hand out to them. "See?" she said. "That's my class ring."

"That's beautiful," Natalie said.

"Thanks," Estrella said, pulling her hand back.

"What was the exact date of your graduation, Estrella?" Adrian asked.

"May 15th," Estrella said, "Why?"

"We have been talking to Mr. Wonka's competitors," Natalie explained. "One of them said that you were a spy they used to get the secret recipes."

"But you can't be," Adrian continued, "You're too young." He paused and then asked, "Was Alicia older or younger than you?"

"Younger," Estrella answered. "She graduated in the class of 2007."

Adrian noticed a photo of two red haired green eyed women sitting on the table. "Is this you and Alicia?" he asked.

"Yes," Estrella said with a smile. "That was taken the day she graduated."

"Why are you both wearing graduation robes?" Natalie asked, looking at the picture.

"Because I put mine on especially for that picture," Estrella answered. "Alicia and I always said it was a pity we weren't the same year in college. Having me put on my cap and gown for the picture was the closest thing we could have to that."

Adrian nodded. "There are charms hanging from the tassels. One says '2005' and the other says '2007.'"

"My alma mater does that," Estrella said. "There is a charm attached to the tassel that has the graduation year on it." She chuckled. "I still remember how on my graduation I kept fidgeting with it. Drove the people sitting on my left and right nuts."

Adrian smirked. _I would have done the same thing_, he thought as he set the picture back down on the table. He looked back at Estrella. "Do you know if Alicia knew someone by the name of Finckelgruber?"

"Sorry, the name doesn't ring a bell," Estrella said.

"What about Prodnose?" Adrian asked.

"Nope," Estrella said.

"Slugworth?" Adrian asked.

Estrella laughed. "What is this, an interrogation?" she asked.

Adrian suppressed a snort of mirth and then said, "No, but could you please answer the question?"

"Actually," Estrella said, "The name Slugworth _does_ ring a bell. I remember now that Alicia dated a Samuel Slugworth for a while before she was murdered."

"Don't you mean Stephen Slugworth?" Natalie asked.

"No," Estrella said. "I'm sure his name was Samuel. I think he was the son of Stephen Slugworth, though. The name Slugworth isn't exactly a common name, and I remember Samuel talking about his father having a candy store." There was a pause, and then "Can I ask you two a favor?" Estrella asked.

"Sure," Natalie answered. Adrian just nodded.

"I've already gotten Alicia's belongings back," Estrella said. "But there was something missing."

"What?" Adrian asked.

"Her class ring," Estrella replied. "I think that the person who killed Alicia took it. When you find out who killed her, could you get Alicia's ring back? It would mean a lot to me."

"Of course," Adrian said, recognizing this as a symptom of grief. He still had all of Trudy's things, and it would have been terrible if he had lost one of them when she died with no way of getting it back.


	13. Chapter 12: Samuel

**Psycho Tangerine, yes, Estrella is supposed to be me. I did fictionalize her a little bit (Estrella Tryon is NOT my real name. Estrella isn't even my real first name, I just liked the name)**

**Welcome, Rich Hornby, and thank you for your review. There's actually a little bit more added to the "why" question…in this chapter, in fact. I'm not sure if you will think of it as a "plot twist," but I thought I'd mention it. As I said earlier in the fic, I will post a chapter a week barring some kind of technology trouble or other event that makes it so I can't get to my computer to post. If that happens, I will post the next chapter as soon as I can.**

**Thank you Cylon One and Monkwriter for your reviews!**

* * *

"So?" Natalie asked as they left Estrella's house. "Where to now?"

"Back to Slugworth," Adrian replied. "I want to talk to his son."

* * *

"You again," Mr. Slugworth said as Adrian and Natalie came through the door. "What do you want now?"

"We want to talk to your son, Samuel," Adrian responded.

"All right," Mr. Slugworth said. "The sooner you talk to him the sooner I get you out of my hair." He turned. "Sam!"

A young man with brown hair came out of a back room, "Yeah dad?" he asked.

"The people I told you about are back and they want to talk to you," Mr. Slugworth said.

Introductions followed and then Samuel led them back to the office. "Dad told me about you coming by the other day," he said. "What can I help you with?"

Adrian had noticed something. "Just curious, but why are you wearing a ring on your pinky finger?"

"Oh that," Samuel said, glancing at the ring. "That's my girlfriend's class ring. It's traditional for a guy to wear his girlfriend's class ring on his pinky."

"And what is your girlfriend's name?" Natalie asked.

"It's…Alicia," Samuel said.

"Alicia Tryon, the victim?" Adrian asked.

Samuel looked down, "Yes," he said. Then he looked back up. "Do you think _I_ killed Alicia?" he asked. "Because I didn't."

"Where were you the night she was murdered?" Adrian asked.

"I was here, in the shop," Samuel said. "Any of the other employees on that night can vouch for me."

"Was your father here?" Adrian asked.

"No," Samuel said, "He'd gone…out." He paused, fidgeted, looked away, looked back, and then sighed. "Alicia had told me that day that she was going to…she was going to…have a baby. Our baby. I told my dad about this and he was furious. He had never approved of Alicia and me dating. Frantic, I begged him for help. He went out that night saying that he would help me. When he came back he said that Alicia had been murdered in an alleyway. He'd found her there. He pulled out her ring and gave it to me 'as a way to remember her by,' he told me. I've had it ever since." After another pause, he asked "Is there anything else I can tell you?"

"No," Adrian said, "Thank you."

The three of them stood up, shook hands (after which Adrian again asked for a wipe), and then Adrian and Natalie left.

* * *

"So now what?" Natalie asked.

"Now we go back to the factory," Adrian responded. "I need some time to think."

"You're not going to clean the suite again, are you?" Natalie asked.

"No," Adrian said. "Last time Mr. Wonka offered for me to clean a storage room in the factory. I barely got into it before Mr. Wonka told me about his competitors. I'll clean in there."

"Okay," Natalie said. Then she asked, "What do you think about Samuel?"

"I think he's telling the truth," Adrian said. "There's no way he could have lied to us. He was obviously trying to hide part of his story and couldn't do that."


	14. Chapter 13: Eureka

**Whoops! Bet you guys thought I forgot ;-) Sorry about that.**

**Welcome Waynhim Duhkkha and Rich Hornby.**

**Yes, Cylon One, you've mentioned that several times :-).**

**Waynhim Duhkkha (and everyone else, too), this is the chapter where you find out the truth of who actually killed the girl.**

* * *

Adrian was back in the storage room, cleaning diligently. His mind was frantically trying to make sense of everything he and Natalie had seen and heard over the past two days.

Three candy makers. Each one obviously involved somehow. But how…

"Hey, Mr. Monk!" Willy's voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

"Yaaaaaahhh!" Adrian exclaimed, jumping in surprise. He turned around to face Willy. "Don't _ever_ sneak up on me like that again." he said.

Willy had one purple gloved hand clapped over his mouth as he tried to keep from laughing. Finally he got his mirth under control enough to gasp out, "Sorry, I couldn't he-he-help it," before bursting into laughter again.

In a minute he collected himself and looked around the room. His eyes widened and he whistled. "This place is _CLEAN_," he said. He looked at Adrian, "The oompa-loompas and I couldn't have done better."

Adrian turned back to where he was trying to get out the remains of one last spot on a table and shrugged one shoulder, embarrassed. "Thanks," he mumbled, scrubbing.

"Uh, Mr. Monk," Willy said. "You really should stop mumbling. I can't understand you when you do."

"Sorry," Adrian said. He looked over at Willy and stared for a minute before a slight smile appeared.

"What is it?" Willy asked.

"I've solved the case," Adrian said. He walked towards the door, Willy following him.

Once they were outside the room, Willy caught up with Adrian, "You figured out what happened?" he asked excitedly. "What happened? Who did it?"

"I want to explain it to everyone," Adrian said.

"'Kay!" Willy said, and dashed off.

Adrian wondered what Willy was up to. Then he shrugged and continued on his way to the suite.

When he reached there, he heard several voices talking inside. He opened the door and was surprised to see that not only were Natalie and Julie there, but also Willy, Charlie, Charlie's parents and grandparents, too. Willy grinned at Adrian. "So _there_ you are, slowpoke!" he exclaimed. "We've been waiting for you to come and tell us what you figured out."

Adrian was speechless. "How…how did you…"

"Never mind that!" Willy exclaimed. He grabbed Adrian's hand, which was still encased in a yellow rubber cleaning glove, and pulled him into the room. "Come on! Everyone's here to hear your solution!"

"Let me get these gloves off, first," Adrian said, walking over to the trash can.

"Argh!" Willy exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "You're driving me _crazy_!"

After removing the gloves and thoroughly washing his hands, Adrian came back over to them. "So," he said, "Here's what happened…"

(Scene changes to black and white and shows what happened while Adrian narrates)

"Alicia Tryon was dating Samuel Slugworth, son of Stephen Slugworth. He got her pregnant. His father was furious because this would be bad for his company's reputation and therefore the business. When he went out, he went to Mr. Prodnose and Mr. Finckelgruber, his allies ever since they had all sent spies to steal Mr. Wonka's recipes. He wanted to kill Alicia. So they all formulated a plan. They would frame Mr. Wonka for the girl's murder. Mr. Finckelgruber provided the gun. Mr. Prodnose took down the table skirts he had and used them to make a coat like Mr. Wonka's out of it. He probably also provided the top hat. Mr. Prodnose probably gave his wife some form of sleeping medication so she wouldn't wake up that night. It was Mr. Slugworth who pretended to be you, Mr. Wonka, and who actually killed Alicia. Then Mr. Finckelgruber took the picture with his camera."

(Scene changes back to the present)

"I figured out that it was Slugworth who killed Alicia because of seeing Mr. Wonka just now," Adrian explained. "He's the only one of the three that was skinny enough to be able to pull it off. Plus, he's bald so wearing a wig would work best on him."

"So _now_ do we go to the police and tell them?" Willy asked.

"Yes," Adrian said.

* * *

The local police, not knowing Adrian personally, were skeptical at first when he told them what had happened, but they were willing to check it out. They got a warrant and searched the homes and candy stores of Finckelgruber, Prodnose, and Slugworth. In Finckelgruber's store they found the gun that Monk had seen. It was the right kind of gun that would shoot the kind of bullet that had killed Alicia Tryon. When they fingerprinted it, the found a positive match for Slugworth's prints. They also found the negative version of the picture that appeared in the paper in Finckelgruber's desk drawer. When they searched Prodnose's dwelling, they found the Wonka costume, complete with top hat and wig, and missing the lower right corner. Upon DNA testing it, they found Slugworth's DNA on it.

Adrian, Natalie, Julie, Willy, Charlie, and Charlie's parents all watched as the three candy makers were handcuffed, put into police cars, and driven to the police station. Willy touched his nose with his right thumb and waved his fingers at his former competitors, "Nah nah nah nah nah!" he said.

Once the police cars had driven away, Adrian turned around to find Samuel standing there. "I'm sorry," he said. "I kind of feel like this is all my fault. If Alicia and I hadn't…she wouldn't have been going to have my baby and Dad wouldn't have killed her."

"Samuel," Adrian said, "It's not your fault. Your father was the one who decided to kill Alicia, not you."

"I wish there was something I could do," Samuel said.

"Actually," Adrian said, eyeing Alicia's ring, "There is. I talked to Alicia's sister and she said that Alicia's class ring was missing and she hoped I would find it."

Samuel looked down at the ring, and then slowly removed it and handed it over to Adrian. "Then give this to her, by all means," he said. "And tell her that if she ever wants to talk about her sister, she can call me. Alicia wrote my number down in her contacts book."

"I'll pass along both the ring and the message," Adrian promised.


	15. Chapter 14: Not So Different After All

**Monkwriter, as you can tell the last chapter wasn't THE last chapter, if you know what I mean. There's this one and one more.**

**Psycho Tangerine, yes, the bad guys were dumb in keeping the clues, but since Monk isn't in his hometown, I figured that the police needed to find very obvious clues about the case in order to believe Monk. As for Slugworth, yes, he is. I tried to make him a combination of very paranoid about things relating to his business (or anything that might even remotely affect it) and all around evil (In books I have read, bad guys have often over reacted, so he did, too). Sounds like I succeeded. **

**Cylon One, glad you liked it. Yes, Willy did use the elevator. By the way, remember that "teaser" I gave you a while ago? Well, here's the chapter I was talking about.**

**Also, I wanted to apologize to everyone for the late chapter. Computer trouble…AGAIN!**

**Lastly, I just wanted to post a "warning." MAJOR fluff in this chapter. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it's pretty much totally fluff. But fluff can be fun. I thought the characters needed some time just to relax, enjoy themselves, and maybe make some new friends after the case was over.**

Once the police cars had pulled away with the three arrested criminals and Alicia's ring had been returned to Estrella, everyone went back to the factory. They immediately went to the chocolate room.

"Aaaaaahhhhh…" Willy sighed, flopping down in the swudge grass on his stomach. "Safe at last!"

A half an hour later found the Buckets, the Teegers, Willy Wonka, and Adrian Monk wandering around the Chocolate Room helping themselves to anything that struck their fancy.

* * *

Julie was walking along the bank of the chocolate river when something clunked her on the head. "Ouch!" she exclaimed, rubbing the spot.

"Sorry about that," came a voice.

Julie looked down and saw an apple on the ground. She picked it up and walked over to a tree that was covered with them. She peered through the branches until she saw Charlie sitting in the tree. "That was you, Charlie?" she asked.

"Yes," Charlie said before climbing down. "I didn't mean for that to happen. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Julie said. She held the apple out, "Here."

"No," Charlie said, pushing her hand back, "Keep it. You were the one it hit in the head."

"But you're the one who climbed the tree to get it," Julie protested.

Charlie paused for a moment and then he said, "Then we'll share it. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good to me," Julie said.

Charlie looked about until he found a rock candy boulder. He dropped the apple onto the boulder, effectively breaking it in half. Then he handed half of it to Julie. They knelt in the swudge grass and ate.

"You've got cream on your upper lip, Julie," Charlie said after a few minutes of companionable silence.

Julie licked her lip. Then she looked at Charlie and giggled. "Well _you_ have cream on the end of your nose," she said. "How did you do that?"

"I have no idea," Charlie said with a shrug, before wiping the cream off with a finger and then licking his finger.

* * *

Across the river, Adrian was wandering around and looking at the room.

"Don't you like candy, Mr. Monk?" came a familiar voice.

Adrian turned around to see Willy standing there. "I like it fine," he said, "It's just…I can't tell how clean it is."

"It's all very clean," Willy said. "The oompa-loompas take care of that."

"I'd still like to see for myself," Adrian replied. "I'd use a wipe, but the wetness would dissolve whatever I touched. I didn't think you'd like that very much."

"Do you have any gloves you could put on and test that way?" Willy asked.

"No," Adrian said. "I used all the ones I brought while cleaning."

Willy suddenly grinned. "I have an idea," he said. "Come on!" With that, he turned around and began walking away from Adrian. With a shrug, Adrian followed him.

Willy led Adrian to what looked like a blank wall in the chocolate room. Adrian was about to say something when he noticed a hairline crack in the wall. Willy carefully pushed at the level where there would normally be a doorknob. There was a click and the crack widened enough for Willy to stick his hand in and pull what was obviously a door all the way open, revealing a hallway. He turned to Adrian. "Come on," he said, and then went through.

Willy led Adrian to what appeared to be a dead end in the hall. There was a round hole in the wall. "This is a glove maker," Willy told Adrian. "Just stick your hands in there and it'll create a custom made pair of gloves just for you." He held up his own purple gloved hands. "It's where I get my own gloves from."

"Will they be purple like yours?" Adrian asked.

"What's wrong with that?" Willy asked.

"Purple's just not my color," Adrian said, shrugging one shoulder uncomfortably.

Willy reached out and pressed a small black button in one corner of the glove maker. A panel flipped open with many different buttons, each one labeled a different color. "Then choose a color," Willy said.

Adrian looked over the choices and saw a tan color that he thought would be all right. He pointed to it and Willy pressed the button. The panel closed again.

"Now," Willy said. "Put your hands in the hole and spread your fingers." He demonstrated the right position with his hands. Adrian hesitated. Willy smiled when he realized why Adrian was hesitating. "Don't worry," he said, "It disinfects itself after every use."

Adrian stuck his hands into the hole, fingers spread the way Willy had showed him. There came a tan colored glow, and when he pulled his hands back out he found he wore a pair of custom made tan colored gloves. "Neat," he said.

"All set now?" Willy asked. Adrian nodded and the two of them went back into the chocolate room.

Once they were back, Adrian checked some of the more obscure places like the points where branches connected to the trunk of candy trees and grooves in rock candy boulders. After a few minutes of this, and finding no dust or dirt of any kind on his new gloves, Adrian smiled.

"Pass the test?" Willy asked.

"Yes," Adrian said and helped himself from a nearby tree.

A sudden laugh caused the heads of the chocolatier and detective to snap around. They saw Charlie and Julie talking and laughing together.

"I wonder what they're talking about?" Willy asked.

"Probably us," Adrian said.

"Probably," Willy echoed. Then he turned to Adrian with a grin. "Charlie and his family are the best thing that ever happened to me," he said. "They kinda adopted me after they moved in. Charlie's like a little brother or something."

Adrian smiled. "I understand what you're talking about," he said. "Trudy was the best thing that ever happened to me. It seemed like she was the only one who really cared about me."

Willy's curiosity was pricked. "The only one?" he asked. "What about your family? Your p…p…uh…mom and dad?"

"Mom was very distant," Adrian admitted. "Dad ran away from home when I was young. My brother, Ambrose, never comes out of the house where we grew up."

Willy suddenly giggled. "This Ambrose sounds a bit like me," he said.

"Except that he stays in an ordinary house," Adrian said. Then he asked, "What about you? What happened in your family?"

"What makes you think something happened?" Willy asked.

"You said that the Buckets adopted you," Adrian said. "People usually only do that for people who don't have families of their own. So something must have happened to your family."

Willy rolled his eyes, "Okay," he said, "You got me. My mom's dead. She died when I was really little. I don't even remember her. Dad and I weren't very close." He turned to Adrian. "He also…kind of…ran away from me, too." At that statement, Willy's eyes went wide and he stared off into the distance.

"Mr. Wonka?" Adrian asked. "Mr. Wonka?" He waved a hand in front of Willy's face. Willy didn't even blink. "Charlie!" Adrian hollered across the bank.

Charlie looked over at Adrian. "What's going on, Mr. Monk?" he called.

"That's what I want to know," Adrian said. He indicated Willy. "What's wrong with Mr. Wonka?"

Charlie glanced quickly at him. "Flashback," he said. "They happen from time to time. He'll snap out of it on his own."

In a few minutes Willy seemed to come back. "I'm sorry, I was having a flashback," he said.

"Charlie told me about what was going on," Adrian said, nodding. "Was it about what we were just talking about?"

"Yeah," Willy looked away, clearly not wanting to talk about it. He turned back to Adrian suddenly with a thousand watt smile. "I guess we're not too different, huh?"

"I guess not," Adrian said. "We both had a hard past. We both had everyone we cared about leave us at one point."

"And we're both considered weird," Willy put in, "As well as being geniuses."

"True," Adrian said.

* * *

**A/N: I hope ****fxkoala**** doesn't mind my borrowing and expanding slightly (I added the idea of the panel used to select the color) their idea of the glove makers (It came from their story ****Chocociology****, which is one of my favorite Charlie and the Chocolate Factory fanfiction stories…I highly recommend everyone check it out).**


	16. Chapter 15: Goodbye

**Cylon One, I haven't actually watched an episode of Monk in a long time. Last I knew, Ambrose was still staying in the house almost all the time only coming out once in a great while.**

**Monkwriter, when I said "fluff" I did mean sentiment. I don't think that fluff necessarily means romance. As for your point about Natalie and Julie, I simply wanted to be cautious there since I've never actually seen how they interact with each other.**

* * *

The next morning Adrian, Natalie, Julie, Willy, Charlie, Charlie's parents and Charlie's grandparents all gathered outside.

"Well," Willy said once the car was packed up again. "I guess this is goodbye, huh?"

"Yes," Adrian said. "I guess it is."

"You three will keep buying Wonka candy, right?" Willy asked.

"Of course," Adrian, Natalie, and Julie said together.

Adrian opened one of the suitcases and produced a picture frame. "I never told you this," he said, "But Trudy once visited the factory. She wrote a poem about the experience. I typed it up on the computer you had in the suite and printed off a copy. I had it framed." He handed the frame over to Willy. "I know she would have wanted you to have this."

"'Candy Dreamland,'" Willy read. "Nice title." He tucked it under one arm. "Thanks! I'll hang it in my office." Then he fished in his pocket. "I have something for you, too." he dug around for a few minutes more and then pulled out a pin that was identical to the one at his throat. "Here," he said. "This was my first W pin. I found it a few days ago in a drawer. It was all rusty and dusty and…ew!" Willy shuddered. "But I got it cleaned up, as you can tell. I want you to have it. Maybe think of it as a…souvenir?"

"Thank you," Adrian said, accepting the pin. "I'll put this with souvenirs from other cases." He handed it to Natalie.

"And maybe those gloves, too," Natalie said, putting the pin in the suitcase, "If you ever take them off."

Willy looked at Adrian's hands and lo and behold, he was still wearing the gloves that he'd gotten yesterday. "Oh, Mr. Monk," Willy said. "About the gloves…they're only sterile for twelve hours."

"Bleeeeaaaaahhh!" Adrian bellowed, pulling the gloves off. "Natalie! Bag! Quick!" Natalie dug out a plastic baggie. Adrian quickly tossed the gloves into it. "Wipe!" Natalie whipped out a wipe and handed it to Adrian. He frantically started scrubbing his hands with it.

Willy laughed once Adrian had calmed down again. "You're really weird, Mr. Monk," he hesitated for a moment and then added, "but I like you anyway."

"Thank you, Mr. Wonka," Adrian replied. "I guess. I feel the same way about you, too."

Willy grinned and held out his hand. "Friend?" he asked.

Adrian hesitated a moment and then put his hand in Willy's. "Friend," he said as they shook hands. Then he scrubbed his hand on the wipe again.

"So now that we're friends," Willy said. "You can call me Willy, 'Kay?"

"Okay," Adrian said, "And you can call me Adrian…if you want to."

"Okay," Willy said. He hesitated, and then asked, "Will you write to me sometimes? I'd love to have a pen pal."

"If you'll write back," Adrian responded, nodding.

Julie looked up at Adrian. "Could I sometimes include letters to Charlie when you write to Mr. Wonka, Mr. Monk?"

"Sure," Adrian said.

"And could I do the same for letters to Julie with your letters to Mr. Monk, Willy?" Charlie asked.

"Of course, Charlie," Willy said.

Natalie suddenly looked at her watch. "I hate to break up this moment, but we need to leave now if we're going to make our flight."

Adrian, Natalie, and Julie got into the car, calling and receiving goodbyes. Willy left to open the gates and the car drove through, and out of sight.


End file.
